Ferdy Unger-Hamilton is enjoying a prime debut year as head of Sony label Columbia in the U.K. with four #1 albums, half of which were debuts, and two #1 singles under his belt so far. Which got us thinking, how does that compare with the label’s track record? And how are the new leaders of the Universal label he left behind, Polydor, faring?

I am not black. So there is truly no way I can ever fully absorb what it is like in the parallel world—and there absolutely is one in America now, sadly, increasingly more than ever—for people of color.